June 7, 2018 – Ralph and his Rickshaw visit Gibson City (Illinois) Rotary Club #3268

Ralph Zuke, President of the Rotary Club of Fairview Heights, Illinois and his Barcalounger Rickshaw are riding from Fairview Heights near St. Louis to Toronto, Canada where the Rotary International Convention is being held. The ride will take 22 days, symbolizing each of the preventable cases of polio last year. There are only three countries that still have cases of the virus.

“To give you an idea of how incredible this has been, if you take a piece of paper for each kid who had polio in the 80’s, or nearly any year in the 80’s, the stack would be 148.5 feet tall,” says Zuke. “Last year it was 1/10 of an inch. So Rotary has done a phenomenal job, but we want to close the deal and just get this done that way it will never be a threat to anyone again.” (illinoishomepage.net/news/local-news/rickshaw-ride-for-polio/1220579044/)

Ralph will be visiting our club on Wednesday, June 13and speaking briefly about this project. Ralph’s goal is to raise $22,000. All funds raised will be matched 2 to 1 by the Gates Foundation. If you would like to support Ralph’s efforts, you can make a donation at the District 6510 website (Click Here) or Ralph will be accepting donations on June 13. All checks made payable to The Rotary Foundation. END POLIO NOW!!!